An Overprotective Sister
by Joseph Key
Summary: Elsa won't stand for any harm that comes to her baby sister.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note:**__ This starts a few minutes before the movie ends, making some tweaks to the ending events of the movie to set up for the rest of the story. Also, you have /frz/ to thank (or threaten) for this even existing. I don't know how I'm managing to write this._

* * *

Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff waited nearby and watched as a pair of guards pulled Hans from the water. Anna was still upset, her punch doing little to calm her attitude towards the now-soaking wet prince. She asked her sister, "So... what are you going to do with him? He tried to kill both of us!"

The Queen looked at her sister with a soft expression for a moment before straightening and issuing a command to the guards holding Hans, "Bring him to the center of town. We'll make an example of him." She turned to another nearby guard and said, "Find the Duke of Weselton and his men, as well. He had some part in this and will need to answer for what he's done."

* * *

A short while later a crowd had formed at the center of town. Many of the townsfolk had heard whispers and rumors of what had happened with the prince and what was going to happen to him now that their Queen was back. A squad of guards surrounded the four captives and held the crowd back, leaving a moderate sized area clear for whatever was to happen when the Queen arrived.

After a short absence spent at the castle changing outfits, Queen Elsa slowly made her way to the gathering, followed by Anna, Kristoff, and a handful of royal guards. Her sister stole nervous glances at the Queen as they progressed through the crowd, unsure of what was going to happen. She wanted Hans brought to justice, but she didn't know what Elsa had planned for him and the Duke.

As the Queen and her entourage stepped past the perimeter of guards, Elsa slowly turned and addressed the crowd, "People of Arendelle, as well as my guests and visitors, I apologize to you for what has happened. I lost control of my emotions and did a terrible thing to you all. I know I've made a mistake, but it's not one I anticipate will be repeated. My hidden ice powers can only be accidentally revealed and cause an eternal winter once before they stop being hidden." There was a small murmur growing in the crowd. "I will find a way to atone for what I've done and make it right with you." Elsa glanced at her sister as she spoke the last few words.

Elsa turned to the four men in the very center of the square and uttered a quiet command to the guards holding them. They quickly obeyed and separated the men, bringing one to each corner of the cleared space.

Turning back to the crowd, she continued, "I am not the only person who has made a grievous mistake recently. These men," she paused and gestured to the three from Weselton, "they tried to murder me after I fled Arendelle. I cannot forgive these actions." The Queen motioned with her hands and formed cages surrounding the men. Made completely from brilliant translucent ice, the bars were thick and sturdy and left the men with little room to move.

Elsa moved to Hans and began again, "And _this_ man... Prince Hans of the Southern Isles..." she cooed as she walked around him, "not only did he try to kill me, he tried to kill my sister, Anna, and usurp my throne." The Queen stepped away from him and brought her arms together, encasing him in a cage similar to other three. But this one was more... menacing. It had jagged protrusions on the bars and the floor that jabbed into Hans as they grew and made him squirm away, desperate to not be skewered by the icy spars. To his relief, they stopped before they punctured his flesh but not before they forced him into an unbearably uncomfortable position. Elsa turned away and raised her voice as she continued, "Let him be an example to all who would seek to harm or threaten my kingdom, my person, or my family. Send word of his betrayal and his punishment as far as your ships can carry you, so that others may learn from his mistakes." Satisfied that she had made her intentions clear, Elsa walked next to her sister, took her hand, and began the walk back to the castle.

Anna stumbled as she hadn't taken her eyes off of Hans and his newly formed prison. Catching herself, she matched her sister's pace and looked up at her, and with a hint of worry in her voice she asked "You're just going to leave him there in the middle of town?"

Elsa replied without looking at her sister, "For now. Would you prefer I give him a room in the castle? I think he deserves a few sleepless nights in his cage. I'll decide on a more permanent solution later." She squeezed Anna's hand and smiled at her, "I wouldn't waste time worrying about him, Anna, when we have so much lost time we have to make up for together." Anna returned her sister's smile and felt her cheeks grow warmer as she thought about finally being able to spend time with her beloved sister.

* * *

Late that night a hooded figure stole away from the castle and made its way swiftly into the city center. Peering around the square and seeing three men sleeping uncomfortably curled up in their cages and a fourth squirming and grimacing as he did what he could to keep from impaling himself, the figure walked to the fourth man and chuckled.

At the sound, the man turned his head to see who was approaching him. He couldn't make out the face underneath the hood, but he was surprised and started to relax as he noticed the pointed ice of his prison recede into the bars. "Starting to warm up to me, your majesty?" he asked with a smile and a weak voice.

The only response he received was a grunt of derision and the feel of cool ice wrapping around his hands, feet, and waist, locking him in place as the bars in front of him disappeared. Something flashed in the figure's hand as light from a nearby lamp fell onto it and the prince's eyes widened in fear as he recognized the object. One final patch of ice surrounded his throat, locking his head in place as the figure closed the last few feet between them and brought the jagged ice knife to his face.

"This is for what you did to my sister," said Queen Elsa, of Arendelle.

Hans screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note:**__ This chapter did not end up how I planned it. So, uh, we'll see where we go from here._

* * *

The Queen rapidly made her way back to the castle with her trophy. She had taken Hans's tongue so that he could never use it to seduce anyone ever again. After letting him bleed for a short while, she frosted over the wound so he wouldn't bleed quite to _death_ and restored his cage to its previous state.

When Elsa finally made it back to her study, she opened one of the armoires inside and placed the cube of ice containing her spoils of the night onto a shelf before locking it and filling the lock with ice. She _could not_ let her sister see this.

* * *

The next morning, Elsa ate her breakfast in the large dining hall with her sister. It was the first time she had taken a meal there in as long as she could remember. Anna could barely contain her excitement when she saw Elsa enter the hall.

"I'm so glad things have finally started to get back to the way they should be!" said the younger girl.

"Me too." Elsa said with a warm smile as she took her seat at the head of the table. "I'm so sorry about everything. I don't know if I'll ever be able to make it up to you, Anna."

Anna was beaming, "Don't worry about it! I have my sister back and that's all that matters."

Their meal continued on like this for a short while, with Anna regaling Elsa the grand tale of her time spent with Kristoff on the North Mountain.

"Oh, that's right," interrupted the Queen, "What happened to your mountain man after we left the square yesterday?"

Anna lowered her head slightly as she replied, "I don't know. He didn't come to the castle last night and I don't know where he lives."

Elsa paused for a moment before she asked her sister, "I hope you're not already planning on marrying this one, too."

Bolting upright and feeling the blood rush to her cheeks, Anna replied, "N-no... I mean, I like him and all, and he kissed me... And the trolls _did_ try to marry us before we got back to Arendelle but I fainted. But he's just a friend! And..."

Chuckling, the Queen said, "Relax, Anna. I'm only teasing. He seems nice enough. Just don't rush it, okay?"

"I won't..." came the redhead's reply.

Before either girl could continue their conversation, Kai burst open the door and moved swiftly to his Queen's side, whispering something in her ear.

"Thank you for letting me know, Kai. Is that all?" inquired the Queen.

"Yes, your majesty," he replied.

"Then you are dismissed." Kai bowed briefly before turning and leaving the two girls.

As soon as Kai closed the door Anna couldn't help but ask her sister, "What did he say?"

"It's about Hans. It would appear that somebody attacked him last night."

"Attacked him? Why? You... he's in a cage. He couldn't hurt anybody right now if he tried." asked Anna.

"Who knows?" Elsa sighed before continuing, "Honestly, I don't care, Anna. He probably deserved it. Maybe he taunted somebody and they got upset with him?"

"Maybe... but I don't think it's right for him to just be out there for anyone to attack. Why didn't you put him in the dungeon if you wanted to hold him hostage?"

"Anna, he left you for dead and then tried to kill me. I need to let the world know that as Queen I will not stand by and let that happen. I know you liked him, but he's a criminal and he deserves whatever is coming to him." Elsa said sternly.

"This has nothing to do with that!" Anna shouted. She was blushing. Lowering her voice, she continued, "He's a jerk and he was just using me, I know that. That doesn't mean this is the right thing to do."

"Are you sure, Anna? This whole time you've only been talking about Hans, you haven't even mentioned the Duke or his men."

Anna blushed again, "They weren't attacked in the night! And you made Hans's cage worse than theirs, he probably couldn't even sleep in it."

Elsa leaned back in her ornate high-backed chair and thought for a time. "So, what would you do with Hans if you were in my position? If you were Queen and he tried to kill both of us and steal your throne, what would you do?"

"I..." Anna started, before falling silent. She eventually spoke, "If you're waiting for somebody to kill him, why not just have him executed? You must have been expecting this, you didn't look surprised at all when Kai told you what happened."

Elsa tried to hide a wince at that. The room went silent again. After a few minutes, Anna excused herself from the table and left the dining hall..

* * *

It was nearly noon by the time Anna made it to the center of town. She wanted to see what kind of shape Hans was in after his attack. She hoped it wasn't as bad as she imagined it to be.

It was worse.

The ice of his cage and the ground in front of it were stained red with blood. His clothes were a dark crimson, as well. The blood seemed to have been coming from his mouth. Hans was sagging into the ice of his cage. Anna froze at the sight. Looking around the square she realized it was almost empty except for a handful of guards, presumably they were there to stop further attacks.

She tentatively approached Hans's icy prison and asked him, "...what happened to you?"

He looked at her dejectedly before turning his head away and spitting out a mouthful of blood. Turning back to Anna, he opened his mouth wide and let out a croaking noise in her direction.

Anna gasped. "Your tongue! Who did this?" she asked, almost forgetting who this was and what he had done, her only concern now being the question of who would do something like this to a defenseless man in the middle of the night.

Hans only closed his mouth and scowled at her.

"He can't answer you, you know," came a voice from behind the princess. "It's no easy task to talk without a tongue."

Anna twirled around to find that the duke had been the one to speak. "...did you see what happened?" she asked.

"See? No. I was asleep at the time. But I heard it! Or, well, I heard his screams as it happened. Woke me up in a flash! Did see someone running away right after, though." explained the duke.

"But you didn't see their face, did you?" asked the princess.

"Covered by a hood, and I only saw their back, anyway."

"Let me guess, I'll get the same story from your men?", Anna asked as she pointed over her shoulder at one of the cages.

"Sad to say you will, dear. I already asked them what they caught last night," answered the duke.

Anna sighed and started to walk around the square, looking around as though for a clue. After making a full circuit she returned to Hans and asked him, "So was it worth it? Was leaving me to die and trying to steal my sister's throne worth your tongue, Hans?"

His reply was to close his eyes and lean his head back against the bars of his cage.

"Maybe Elsa's right... Maybe you do deserve this." said the princess in a soft voice as she turned away from him.

At the mention of the Queen's name his eyes snapped open and he glared at Anna. She didn't notice, as she was already walking back to the duke.

"And what about you? Elsa says you sent your men to kill her on the North Mountain," she asked.

He lowered his eyes. "Ah. Yes. Well... I did. I thought it was the only way to stop the winter! We were freezing to death down here."

"Was it worth it? Was the attempted murder of my sister worth the lives of you and your men?"

He looked up at her incredulously, "Our lives? Do you really think she'll kill us?"

Anna let out a short, halfhearted laugh. "Who knows? I can't tell what she's thinking right now. She might just leave you here until you starve or these cages melt, whichever comes first." Anna looked off towards the castle and tried to understand what Elsa was planning.

* * *

The princess returned to the castle a short while later and headed straight to her sister's study.

A few quick knocks on the door, followed by, "Elsa? Elsa are you in there?"

"Come in, Anna," replied the Queen.

Anna walked into the spacious room to find her sister seated behind a large mahogany desk covered in papers. "What are you going to do with those men?" asked the princess accusingly.

"Well according to you I should just execute them, shouldn't I?" responded the Queen, leaning back and folding her hands.

"I- But- That's not what I meant!" exclaimed the princess.

Both women fell silent for a moment. Elsa was the first to speak, "I haven't decided yet. They'll survive another day down there."

"I don't know if Hans will..." Anna said softly.

"Did you see him?" asked the Queen.

"I did. Somebody cut out his tongue. He's lost a lot of blood."

Thankfully, Elsa managed to resist the urge to look at the armoire that held the object of this conversation.

"I've been told as much. A doctor has been sent to attend to his wound." Elsa sighed. "Do we have to keep talking about this, Anna?"

Anna looked at her sister with a pained expression, "Sorry, Elsa... It's just that something about this doesn't feel right to me. I'll drop it for now, though. See you at dinner?"

Elsa nodded and Anna turned to make her way from the study. Before she could leave the room, however, Elsa spoke up again, "Hey... Anna? Do you want to build a snowman?"

* * *

That night the men in the square had another visitor. Earlier, the Queen had told the guards that they need not watch over the caged men, and they had no intention of questioning the orders of the Ice Queen.

As the hooded form entered the square, Hans looked at it in fear. He didn't want to lose another appendage. He backed up as far as he could in his cage when the figure approached him. A slender hand reached through the bars of his cage and stroked his cheek. "Don't worry Hans, I'm not here for you tonight. You look like you've lost a lot of blood and I can't have you die on me yet, can I?"

Hans sighed.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note:** Sorry this chapter took a week or something to write. I had massive writer's block for a few days and it's a bit longer than the previous chapters, so this took longer to write. Next chapter should come sooner, as I already have it mostly planned out._

* * *

The Queen approached the cage holding the duke of Weselton, who was sitting with his back to one corner, his head low and bobbing occasionally as he slept. With a flick of the Queen's wrist an icy formation appeared in the back of the duke's throat. He woke immediately, terror in his wide eyes as he frantically looked for the source. As he rested his gaze upon the hooded figure before his cage, his eyes opened even further in recognition. His words caught as he tried to speak to her, finding the magical blockage stopping his attempts.

Elsa lowered herself down and brought her face to the bars before addressing the duke in a whispered tone, "I want to you pay close attention to what comes next." She raised herself and turned her back to him. As she was bringing herself to position in between the other two men from Weselton, the Queen paused and looked back at Hans. She dismissed the pointed ice from the bars of his cage. "You can rest, for now," she said.

Standing between the cages containing the two men, Elsa repeated what she had done to the duke, blocking them from talking and jolting them awake. Before giving them time to comprehend what was happening, the Queen gave them a command, "Stand. Tonight we are going to discuss your earlier indiscretions." The two men stood slowly, warily eyeing each other as well as the hooded Queen.

"The two of you were ordered to kill me by this man, is that correct?" Elsa asked, pointing at the duke. Both men nodded in response. "Do you remember which of you was the first to fire at me?" she asked. The men looked at each other for a moment before the mustachioed man nodded alone. It had been he that loosed the first bolt at the Queen back atop the North Mountain. "Correct," the Queen said with a smile, "I feel like we're beginning to understand one another. One final question, then. Be careful before you answer, it will determine your fate. Was it worth dying for?" Both men's eyes widened in fear as they shook their heads solemnly.

"For your honesty, I'll grant you the privilege of quick deaths." The Queen said, a grin stretching from ear to ear, and she conjured a pair of already-loaded frozen crossbows in her hands. She quickly took aim at each man and fired two shots at their chests, her targets slumping to the ground with a pair of dull thuds. Turning to face the duke again, she flourished her hands and the frosted bolts in the dead mean disappeared and fresh ammunition loaded itself in her weapons. "Hmm... I can't imagine this will bode well for our nations' relationship," the Queen added, almost as an afterthought, as the crystalline strings of her crossbows snapped forward and released their payloads into the duke's lungs.

The crossbows were already disintegrating as she dropped them and sauntered past Hans's icy prison, it once again filling with vicious protrusions that prodded at his flesh. "See you again soon," Elsa whispered demurely to him as she disappeared into the night.

* * *

It was nearly noon before Elsa woke the next day. Gerda had tried to rouse her earlier, both for breakfast and then later with some sort of important news, but she was shooed away by the groggy Queen. When Elsa finally did pull herself from her sheets, she felt refreshed and better than she had in years. Taking her time dressing and fixing her hair, she pondered how she would explain this to Anna. Thinking back to the second time Gerda interrupted her, Elsa thought she remembered her mentioning something about another attack. Surely the princess would have questions about what happened, especially after how Elsa had dismissed the topic the previous day.

Eventually deciding that it wasn't worth the headache and not wanting to lose her current feeling of contentedness, Elsa decided to take her lunch in her study instead of in the dining hall. She could tell Anna later on that she had business to take care of and wanted to work through lunch. It wouldn't be a total lie; various treaties and proposals had started to pile up for her and they needed to be addressed. Resigning herself to the fact that the work in front of her was only slightly less intimidating than having to explain herself to her sister, she began trudging through the legal documents on her desk.

* * *

Just having finished her lunch, Anna was rambling about Elsa not showing up to Kai while she waited for the plates to be cleared and her dessert to be brought out to her. "I just wish she would tell me what she's thinking. I know she has a lot to deal with, having to run Arendelle all by herself, but that doesn't mean she can avoid me all day, does it?"

"I won't presume as to what Queen Elsa can or cannot do, your highness," replied Kai in a level voice.

"Oh! You said you had something important to tell me. What was it?" asked the princess, suddenly realizing she had interrupted him and was probably keeping him from some of his other duties around the castle.

Kai cleared his throat before answering, "Yes, your highness. You said you wanted to be informed of anything that happened to the prisoners in the town square. There was another attack last night." Anna's eyes widened as she stared intensely at the portly man in front of her. "Three of the men were killed – the three men from Weselton. Prince Hans appears to have suffered no further injuries from this attack. The Queen has already been made aware of the situation."

As soon as he finished, Anna launched into a barrage of questions, "What did she say? Has she moved Hans somewhere else yet? How were the men killed? Have they found who did this? Where's Elsa?"

Kai had retreated a step at the sudden outburst, and he took a moment to straighten himself before replying, "Her majesty hasn't said anything on this matter directly. Gerda spoke with her earlier. She asked Queen Elsa what she should have the guards do about this and her response was to have them do nothing."

Anna was furious. "Have them bring Hans to the castle and put him in one of the cells in the dungeon! I don't care what Elsa says."

"Yes, your highness." Kai said with a bow before making a swift exit from the dining hall.

Anna turned back to the table. A plate with some kind of fluffy chocolate confectionery she couldn't name sat in front of her. She had been so caught up in her conversation with Kai that she had missed when it was brought out for her. Grabbing a spoon and poking at the dessert in front of her for a moment, she sighed before placing it back down and rising from the table. She had lost her appetite, even for chocolate. This was unprecedented for Anna; she knew she needed to get away from the castle – from her sister – for a while, or she would go crazy.

Anna didn't have any place in mind to go, but she walked with purpose as she left the gates of the castle behind her and began the trek across the bridge into town. She was so focused on trying to get her mind off of Elsa and the men who had been attacked that she walked right past the large blonde man who smelled vaguely of reindeer without even noticing him. Truth be told, Kristoff almost missed her as well; he was too busy thinking about how not to embarrass himself when he made it to the castle. He had been trying to think of what would be 'proper' to say when requesting an audience with Anna, figuring that knocking on the door and asking "Can the princess come out to play?" would not be appropriate.

Barely noticing the flash of strawberry blonde hair he caught out of the corner of his eye, Kristoff spun around and saw that it was, in fact, the princess that had walked past him. He hurried to her side and matched her pace as he greeted her, "Hey, Anna – err, Princess Anna. Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Her eyes lit up as she recognized the voice and turned to look at him. "Kristoff! Perfect. I need to get away from the castle for a while. Can we find a place to talk?" Anna asked him.

"Yeah, sure. Got anywhere in mind? I have a cabin not too far from the city if not. It's quiet and Sven could use the company. If you don't mind, that is," he replied, a bit uncertain how she would take his suggestion.

"That sounds great! And I was wondering where you lived, so I can't wait to see it," she said with a smile, doing her best to be cheerful despite how she was feeling. Running into Kristoff was helping to ease her mind, but only slightly.

They made their way through Arendelle, taking a quick detour into the market so Anna could buy some carrots for Sven. Kristoff could tell that something was bothering Anna from how quiet she was; he wanted to say something but he couldn't find the right words so they just continued in silence and enjoyed each others' company.

Before too long, the pair arrived at their destination. Sven was lazing around in a makeshift stall outside the modest log cabin. His ears perked up as he heard them approaching, and when he saw Anna (and her small basket of carrots) he bounded towards her and skidded to a stop in front of her.

"Hiya Sven," she said affectionately as she moved her free hand to scratch his chin and a look of pure bliss formed on the reindeer's face. "I missed you, too." She pulled out a carrot from the basket and held it out for him. "The rest of these are for your dinner, okay?" Sven grunted in the affirmative and returned to his stall, while Kristoff opened the door to the cabin and motioned to Anna to enter before following her inside.

Anna wasn't sure what to expect the interior of the cabin to be like, but she found that she liked the homely feel of it. The modest furnishings were very different to the extravagance of the castle and she decided that this type of home suited Kristoff perfectly. "I know it's not much compared to what you're used to, but..." Kristoff started before being interrupted by the princess.

"Oh Kristoff, it's wonderful!" she exclaimed as she spun around to take in a full view of the cabin. "It's so cozy in here. I love it!" Anna said as she plopped herself onto a wooden chair near the unlit fireplace.

"Can I get you anything? Are you thirsty?" Asked Kristoff, barely remembering how to act with a guest in his home after being alone for so long.

"No, but thank you. I just had lunch," came Anna's reply.

Kristoff awkwardly moved a second chair closer to where Anna was seated and sat down himself before deciding to broach the topic that caused this visit in the first place, "So what's bothering you, Anna?"

"Is it that obvious?" She replied, looking down at the floor.

"Well, you said you wanted to talk about something and you were quiet the whole way here. That's not like you."

Anna considered for a moment before gathering her thoughts and speaking. "It's about Elsa. She's been acting funny since everything happened. Not that I _really_ know how she acts considering how little I've seen of her. But she's been acting strange, I'm sure of it!" She paused and looked at Kristoff before continuing, "Have you heard about what happened to Hans and the other men she imprisoned?"

Kristoff nodded, "Yeah, I heard some rumors when I was in town this morning. I don't know exactly what happened because I didn't go and look but I heard they were attacked."

Anna was on the verge of shouting. "Three of them are dead and Hans had his tongue cut out. And Elsa isn't doing anything about it! She isn't trying to find out who did this and she just left Hans there for anyone to attack him again! I had to order the guards to move him to the dungeons myself."

"Whoa, calm down feistypants." Anna took a deep breath at the suggestion "Why are you getting so worked up over somebody who left you for dead and tried to kill your sister?" Kristoff asked.

Sinking into her chair, the princess replied, "Ugh, that's the same thing Elsa says when I ask her about it. I just don't like seeing people get hurt."

"Okay, I get it," he replied, "You said Elsa isn't doing anything about this?"

Anna sat back up and shook her head, "No. Well, when I asked her about it last night she said she sent a doctor for Hans. But when I talked to Kai this morning he told me that she ordered the guards to do nothing about it at all. That's when I told him to have the guards move him."

Kristoff thought he had an idea of what might be happening, but he wasn't thrilled about bringing it up with Anna. He sighed deeply before starting, "Okay now - and please don't get mad at me for saying this - but do you think it's possible Elsa knows who did it or is involved somehow? She did make a pretty big show about 'making an example' out of them."

"No! Elsa wouldn't hurt anyone!" Anna shouted.

"Do you remember what happened last time you said something like that?" Kristoff said softly; he still hurt when he thought of Anna standing perfectly still, body completely frozen into ice.

"That was an accident! You know she didn't mean to hurt me." Anna replied, her voice lowering some.

"Yeah, I know. I'm just saying she's not perfect. She screwed up before and maybe something like that is happening now. Maybe she's letting her emotions get the better of her again."

Anna looked out a window, thinking. It was getting dark and dinner was probably already being served back at the castle. After a few minutes she broke the silence, "You might be right. I really, really hope you're not." Another short silence passed before she spoke again, "Hey, Kristoff? Will you come to the castle again tomorrow, maybe for lunch? I don't want to spend the whole day alone and maybe you'll notice something from talking to Elsa. Or maybe you can even talk some sense into her, since she won't listen to me."

"Of course, I'll do whatever you need," Kristoff said with a warm smile.

* * *

No dark, hooded figure escaped from the castle that night. The Queen did have to avoid a handful of servants as she made her way to the dungeon at the far side of the castle. There was no gaoler stationed at night; there was only one prisoner and he had been fed already.

Elsa approached the lone occupied cell and chuckled when she realized that its occupant had been transferred still inside his smaller icy cell. She had made the ice stronger than she realized; the guards must not have been able to break through it. As she pressed her hand to the lock to form a matching frozen key to unlock the door, she dismissed her icy trap and formed tight shackles binding the prisoner to the wall.

"I fear that our time is coming to an end. Others will soon learn that all this was my doing, but honestly it matters little in the end. I get what I want and none of them can stop me." The Queen moved close to him, reaching out and grabbing his right hand. She stroked it gently and looked into the prisoner's eyes. "This is the hand that held your sword, is it not?" His eyes grew wide with fear as he understood what was to come.

The Ice Queen of Arendelle conjured a thick blade of perfect ice and brought it down on his wrist. Satisfied, she turned to leave the cell with her new trophy, already encasing it in a transparent block of ice. As she locked the door behind her, she released the shackles on the prisoner and heard him slump to the ground.

Hans whimpered.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note:**__ Sorry I'm an asslord for taking like three weeks since the last update. I have a lot of trouble writing unless I'm in the right mindset so this can happen. I have an end in sight for this story but I'm still working out all the details of how to get there._

* * *

This time it was Anna who ate alone in her study. As much as she wanted to be with her sister, she didn't want to risk saying the wrong thing and pushing her further away. So she ate her breakfast alone and used the time spent waiting for Kristoff to think of the right way to ask Elsa about what's been happening. She didn't want to believe that Kristoff was right, but the more she thought about it the more it made sense; Hans hadn't really done anything wrong to anybody except Anna and the Queen so nobody else would have a reason to attack him.

Meanwhile, Kristoff was doing his best to be presentable. He was nervous about his lunch with Anna and even more nervous about potentially confronting the Queen on Anna's behalf. After promising Anna he would help her, he had spent all night and most of the morning attempting to find a way to broach the subject of the attacks without offending the Queen. Unfortunately, he was never very good at this sort of thing and hadn't made much progress. When he saw the sun rising higher he realized it was time for him to make his way to the castle. "I hope I don't screw this up, Sven."

* * *

Lunch started innocently enough, with the trio talking and laughing about the events surrounding Elsa's coronation. Elsa hadn't had much of a chance to speak with Kristoff yet, so she was interested in hearing what he had to say about the brief adventure he had been on with Anna. His version of the story was similar to the Princess's, though much briefer and easier to follow; he didn't have the same propensity to ramble that she did.

As the meal began winding down, Anna sent a look to Kristoff. They both knew the real reason he was here having lunch with the Queen, and Anna must have felt now was the right time. He was so nervous about confronting her he could barely think. He was scrambling for the right words to use to start this inevitable awkward conversation when Anna spared him from that duty.

Clearing her throat, the Princess began, "Elsa, there's something I want to talk to you about." With a quick look at one of the servants near the door, she added, "...privately."

The Queen didn't let herself react to the way Ann spoke. She softly ordered the servants from the room before turning to Kristoff, "You can wait for us in Anna's drawing room, Kristoff."

"No. He's staying," Anna interrupted. "I want him to be here for this."

"Oh, Anna. Please don't tell me you're..." Elsa began, before being interrupted again.

"N-no. It's not that!" The Princess said with a blush before shooting a glance and a smile at Kristoff. Elsa relaxed slightly before Anna began again, "It's about Hans and the Duke and his men. I talked with Kristoff yesterday and, well, since you never seem to want to listen to me about it, I thought maybe you'd listen to him."

"I have been listening to you, Anna. I just don't know why this upsets you so much. Those men did horrible things to us."

"So you really don't care what happens to them? Three men died because of you! You just left them out there!" Anna yelled.

"Those men died because they deserved it. They attempted to assassinate the Queen of Arendelle and they are lucky I didn't declare war on their homelands." Elsa's voice was level as she spoke. She couldn't let her emotions get the better of her now.

Anna couldn't take it any more. "Elsa, do you know who did this?" She almost whispered it, afraid of hearing the answer.

Elsa sat silently for a moment, trying to decide how to answer. "Yes, I do," she said at last.

Anna just stared at her sister. She couldn't believe it. Had Elsa really changed so much since they were children? She shifted her gaze to Kristoff, finding a sad look decorating his face. He understood that Anna couldn't ask the next question; depending on the answer it might destroy her. He spoke to her softly, "Hey, Anna, would you mind if I talked to Elsa alone for a minute?" She shook her head and slowly made her way to the door at the end of the large dining room. When the door shut he turned to Elsa and spoke with a low, calm voice, "It was you, wasn't it? You killed those men and mangled Hans, didn't you, your majesty?"

"What if I did? Do you want to be the one to tell Anna and break her heart? Do you want to be the one who shows Anna that her sister isn't the perfect girl she thought I was?" asked the Queen.

Kristoff sighed and sank into his chair, looking up at the ceiling as he spoke, "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. I know how she would react and I wouldn't be able to handle it."

"So you don't mind lying to her if she asks you about it again?" Elsa asked with a hint of surprise in her voice. She hadn't expected Kristoff to be this calm.

"I don't think I really have a choice in the matter. If she knew, it would crush her." Kristoff paused momentarily before continuing, "So, why did you do it, anyway?"

Elsa waved a hand dismissively, "You know what they did by now. As I said earlier, I've given them what they deserve. Attempts on my life will not be excused," Elsa's tone changed dramatically, focused and almost angry compared to how disinterested she sounded previously, as she finished, "and anybody who means to harm Anna will wish they had never even heard of Arendelle."

The beginnings of a smile appeared on Kristoff's face, "She's something special, isn't she? You care about her a lot."

"O-of course. She's my sister. She's the only family I have left." Elsa was caught off guard by how unaffected Kristoff seemed to be by this conversation. She had all but admitted to killing three men and maiming another but all he seemed to care about was the happiness and well-being of Anna.

The Queen stood and cleared her throat, "Kristoff. You seem like a nice enough man. You care about Anna. She likes you, and I think I'm starting to see why. You may continue to court her if you wish," she moved a hand closer to him, a point of ice extending from her fingers and pricking his neck, "but if you break her heart, if you hurt her in _any_ way, I'll..." her eyes darkened and Kristoff felt as though she were staring a hole straight through him. Suddenly, the ice on her fingers dispersed and she backed away before turning to leave the room. "You should visit Hans before you leave tonight," she said on her way out.

Kristoff let out his breath, not realizing he had been holding it since the Queen rose from her chair. Bringing his hand to his neck to rub where the speartip pressed against him, he thought _Well, you're alive and it doesn't look like she was actually mad at you. That could have gone worse._ He looked down at his hand and saw a drop of blood smeared on one finger. Servants were filing into the room now to clear the table. He sat there as they worked and replayed the Queen's words in his head, _...continue to court her..._

"Wait, what?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Sorry for being slow, etc. Prepare yourself; bad things ahead. May ruin your image of Elsa forever. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Also, I don't really know anything about anatomy or whatever so please excuse any inaccuracies. It's the gore that counts.

* * *

Anna and Kristoff spent the afternoon quietly in Anna's study. Kristoff had fabricated a story about what he and Elsa had talked about, saying that Elsa had told him that Anna didn't know the man behind the attacks and that's why the Queen hadn't told her, and Anna had accepted it. Whether or not she truly believed him or she was just forcing herself to believe him because she didn't want to consider the alternative, he couldn't say. But her mood had improved significantly from earlier and right now he was just basking in the warm glow that was Anna.

* * *

The prisoner's head jerked up as he heard a door outside his cell slam shut. He had been asleep, the first real sleep he had managed in days. He was almost thankful for what had happened during the Queen's last visit, as at least she had rid him of the jagged ice prison that stymied all of his previous attempts at rest.

He was surprised to find that the person who stood in front of him was neither the Queen nor the gaoler. He was tall and blonde, with plain clothes and a plain face. He looked somewhat familiar but Hans wasn't sure why.

"Wow. She really did a number on you, huh?" said the man outside the cell.

Hans just looked at him. He couldn't answer, of course, and he was trying to determine who this man was and why he was here.

"Oh, right. Anna told me about your tongue." He fell silent as he took in a good look at the battered and bloody form on the cell's floor.

"The Queen told me to visit you. As a threat for what will happen to me if I screw things up with Anna." He let out a chuckle before continuing, "How did you manage to screw this up so bad, anyway? She's a princess, she's gorgeous, and she was in love with you," he paused for a moment, "or at least she thought she was in love with you. Either way, you're an idiot for throwing that away... Not that I can complain, I guess." Kristoff took one last look at Hans before turning to leave. "Elsa's probably going to be here soon so I should get going. I probably won't see you again, Hans."

* * *

Kristoff had been right; less than an hour had passed between his departure and the Queen's arrival to Hans's cell. He was still awake. He was brooding over his situation when he heard the barred door of his cell clang shut behind the Queen.

"Good evening, Hans. I hope you're well-rested; we're going to be here all night." She moved to the center of the room and conjured a long table made of smooth ice. "Get on. Or don't. I can put you there myself if you prefer."

Hans hesitated but ultimately complied. Assuming his compliance would make this go easier for him, he slowly made his way to the table and climbed on, laying on his back.

"You're not going to enjoy this, Hans." Elsa said with a grin as icy protrusions extended from the table and wrapped themselves around him, thoroughly securing him to it.

She leaned over him and traced a line up his torso with her hand. The blade was so sharp and so cold he didn't feel any pain at first. Hans had been staring at the Queen's face as she did this, and when he lowered his eyes to meet her gaze his look changed from one of confusion to one of horror at the deep red gash in his chest. The Queen noticed his expression and said, "Your death will be slow and without mercy, Hans. I intend to take my time with you." She reached down and tugged on the exposed flesh to peer into the cavity below. She frowned at the resistance she met and released him before tracing a few more lines on his skin. She could now fold back the flesh of his chest entirely, giving her full access to what lay within.

She began by examining him. She had read books on anatomy, but had never seen something like this up close. She identified the various organs she could remember and what they did, making mental notes of which ones were vital and which were not. She put a hand on his rib cage and caressed it while she spoke, "These will need to go at some point; they'll be in my way later. Would you prefer I remove them now or then?" His only response was a groan and to drop his head onto the table. She smiled at him, "I'll leave them for now. There are other things I'd like to do first, anyways."

Elsa covered his open chest cavity for the moment and moved to his left side, taking his remaining hand in one of hers. "You're not symmetrical anymore, Hans," she noted, "Let's fix that." She traced the circumference of his wrist with the fingers of her free hand, making sure the blade of ice she used wasn't quite as sharp or as cold as the one she had used on his chest. She grinned as she saw his face contort in pain. She grinned wider when she felt Hans's grip on her other hand tighten. "That was only the skin. There's much more yet to come."

She began the slow process of peeling the skin from his hand and exposing the muscle and sinew beneath, leaving her fingers entwined with his as she worked, removing them only when necessary. When she was finished, she let the empty skin fall to the floor and began to examine the musculature of his hand. She poked it and prodded it, testing the feel of the muscle fibers against her soft skin.

Elsa had a vague awareness of the noises that Hans was making in response to her movements, but she tuned them out and continued on. After exploring the muscles and tendons to her satisfaction she once again took his hand in her own, weaving her fingers amongst his. She looked up at Hans with a devilish grin before bringing the frosted blade to his wrist with her other hand, and his squeezing of her hand soon died out as the last of the flesh on his hand was severed from his arm.

The Queen began picking and pulling at the muscle fibers and tendons before stopping abruptly and addressing Hans. The look on her face changed to one of boredom as she brought her blade down on the bones, cleaving away what remained of his hand. She took a step back and looked Hans over as she contemplated what to do next. A short time later, she spoke, "I think it's time to get those ribs out of the way."

She leaned over him again as she peeled back the flesh of his chest. She had manifested something resembling a hammer in one hand, with a slender handle and thick head, and a pointed icicle in the other. She placed the icicle on the first rib and struck it firmly with the hammer. The sharp crack of a breaking bone filled the cell. Elsa pulled it out, and after inspecting it briefly, she placed it on the table next to Hans and moved on to the next rib. She continued like this until the entirety of the left side of his chest cavity was uncovered, giving her access to the lung and heart that had been hidden away.

Gingerly, the Queen moved her hand towards his heart. The pulsating red thing before her gave her some pause. Of course, she had seen depictions of the heart before but to have the real thing beating just an inch from her fingertips, it almost seemed to beckon her to touch it. And touch it she did. She started with just one finger to feel the texture of it before drawing her whole hand over it. Next, she laid her hand on it, almost as if to grasp it.

Elsa looked up at him then, saying, "Hans, you left my sister to die of a frozen heart. How about you have a taste of how it might have felt for her?" She let a small amount of her power flow from her fingertips into the beating muscle beneath them, leaving a faint dusting of frost on the surface. His entire body shuddered at the sensation. Elsa waited for the frost to dissipate before pouring more of her cold into his heart.

She held back a little less the second time, using her entire hand rather than just the five points of her fingers. She removed her hand and giggled at the icy handprint she left behind. Stepping towards the end of the table, she brought her face close to his and stared into his eyes as she spoke, "Do you see now what you condemned her to? This is only a small taste of it." She stepped back and grabbed onto his heart and let the full force of her magic flow into it, not bothering to hold it back as she had been. His heart seized briefly at the sudden cold before falling into an arrhythmic beat. Elsa watched it intently, the beat growing slower and slower until it finally stopped.

"Damn."

* * *

Bonus time: I had this image drawn for me a while back to complement this chapter - imgur dot com slash Fbkyadm


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